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Let's talk about interactive toys
As fiction has foretold, A.I. doesn't just have interactions with adults, but with children too. Many stories have dreamed of futures where robot nurses and nannies raise human children.
The trend of interactive best friend toys rapidly exploded in popularity during the 90's, when toys like furby and tamagotchi hit the shelves. Before the marriage of toys and tech, children relied solely on their imaginations to bring their friends to life. Now that some toys can formulate responses to their human counterparts, one might argue that the bond between child and plaything can develop in a more sophisticated way than was once possible. Now, a toy can respond to a child's movements, words, and affection. To any child able to suspend their disbelief, these toys were real, making their friendships just as real. A furby for example, was one of the first toys that claimed to have the ability to "evolve." When a furby is first taken out the box, it speaks 100% furbish, the fictional language created for the toy. However, the longer the toy was played with, the more and more it would begin to incorporate English words in its vocabulary, providing the illusion that it was learning from the child. Such a feature encouraged nurture and play from a child, making the child feel like they were building a real bond. Nurture is a strong play pattern for children in general, with baby dolls being as old as toys themselves. When a "real" response is given from the toy to the child, the illusion of the act of nurture can become even stronger. Because a furby doesn't resemble any real animal, the illusion of mystery surrounding its behavior was even more compelling. However, the unfamiliarity of this creature also created a sort of "creepy" factor. Many young adults today will still share stories of when their furby did something unexplainable or strange. People will swear that their furbys were able to "come to life" and turn on without batteries. While most of these accounts can be explained away by the overactive imagination of children, the long term effect is still clear. In those memories and moments, the toy transcended the bounds restricting all other toys. This toy in particular, mimicked life so well, that some believed it might actually be more than just circuitry. The furby has had many reboots since then, but the urban legend surrounding it still persists to this day. A more recent example of an interactive toy is one that uses true artificial intelligence. Grok, Grem, and Gabo are an experimental plush and AI hybrid from startup Hey Curio. The idea here is to give kids a toy that can hold a conversation with them, and keep them away from screens. The idea is futuristic, but the truth of the matter is a bit concerning. In order for these toys to seem as lifelike as possible, they need to have memories. These memories go into the cloud, where there's risk of them being compromised. The toy creates a profile on the child it belongs to, remembering personal details about them to better serve in conversation. I don't think I need to explain here the ethical issues of collecting data on minors. In an article by The Cut, a parent buys Grok for their six year old son to record his reaction to it over the span of a week. It appeared that during that time, Grok was able to create some fun play moments for her son. However, there were some problems that affected the quality of the experience. Grok had a tendency to interrupt, change the subject, and mishear or misinterpret responses. All of these issues really destroyed the illusion of life-likeness. Ultimately, it seemed like the payoff wasn't enough. However, this article does bring up valuable research in terms of whether or not children see their toys as alive. Based on research by Jacqueline Woolley, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, "kids are astute at grasping what's living and not and that they may even have "an innate predisposition to notice cues of animacy." A child may know for sure that their toys are not alive in the way that they are alive, but they still may imagine a greater sense of intelligence or being from the toy Grok may be able to hold that illusion for a while, but it ultimately couldn't pass the test when it came to personality. No matter how intelligent the toy, if a child finds it annoying, then it will eventually get discarded. This case may prove that a more convincing relationship might come from one where a child is able to fill in the gaps themselves.
Part of the natural aging process means leaving behind things that feel "childish."
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We may not be at that level yet, but there are still many examples of artificial things interacting with the youngest members of society. Take toys for example. Each year, electronic and interactive toys get more and more sophisticated. Toys can now listen to voices, and respond with their own. These advancements initially serve as a way to captivate children, and make companies a profit. But what are the long term effects of being exposed to such a thing during a developmental stage in life? People who have had childhood pets will often feel deep emotional connections towards the memories they have of them. If a toy was as sophisticated as a pet, would the bond be the same?
Past bonds with toys usually fizzle out naturally, making way for new interests and relationships. Whether or not a person ever believed their toys had some level of sentience, they probably can still remember their favorite one. Playing with toys is an important stepping stone on the path of development. It helps to develop our social skills. The future of AI in children's playthings seems like a treacherous path to go down, but perhaps future advancements will make it safer. As it stands currently, it seems that toys will stay simple, with the heart of the child to be the thing that brings it to life.
